Just doing all I'm capable of and contributing to the minimal amount of oc fics out there with this project of mine. Aside from playing the game and watching the anime/movie, I am trying my best to get my facts correct by researching extensively when necessary. I hope you all enjoy and I don't let you down.
Title of story taken from the lyrics of Sleeping at Last's Saturn.
I highly recommend listening to "bird song intro" on youtube as it was the song that inspired and complemented this chapter.
POSTED: 02.20.17
WORD COUNT: 1,746
Bird Song Intro - Florence + the Machine
I was tired, like always. Both school and club activities left a perpetual bone deep tiredness within me that was only drawn out further by the mental exhaustion of being an introvert and interacting with others all day. I just wanted to go home and sleep for an eternity, but there was still the daily homework load to complete.
It had been my turn to clean up after history club this week, making me the last to leave school out of the group. It had been raining all day and didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon as I hovered in the doorway of the building, debating on making a run for it to the bus shelter down the road. I cursed my lack of umbrella before darting out into the rain with a notebook covering the top of my head.
I could have probably taken a little more care in walking down the stairs leading away from the school. My runner-clad foot landed on the step below me before shooting forward and throwing me off balance. The notebook was thrown backwards as I swung my arms to catch my balance, while my other foot slid off the step as well, sending me down onto the concrete.
Pain erupted at the back of my head and flew through my entire back as black slowly crept into my vision.
It was so cold, I fumbled around to find my blankets which I had kicked off at some point in the night. But instead of grasping my downy comforter, my hand met the cool ground beneath me, making my brown eyes open in confusion. Rather than being in the safe confines of my bedroom at home, I found myself surrounded by the hushed calm of an unfamiliar forest.
Panic began to rise in my chest as I stood on shaking legs and began stumbling through the trees around me. Everything was the same for miles, green trees and bushes that clawed at my clothes and exposed skin. Granted, my school uniform probably wasn't fit for tearing through dense forests, my running shoe catching on a tree root and sending me to the forest floor.
Sitting back on my knees, I let out a shriek at the sight of an animal. The thing was small, like a cat, with large ears and a long tail, covered in white fur, with a weird red horn on it's head. I stared wide-eyed at it as it looked at me, placing a cell phone of all things in front of me. I just looked between the thing and the cell phone before the animal gave a 'yip' and the phone went off.
I slowly picked the phone up and turned the screen on to view the message.
'Hello, can you read this?' I tilted my head slightly, weirded out by the random message before another popped up on the screen, 'In front of you!'
My brown gaze immediately moved from the screen to the animal before me, staring at it in surprise.
"Uh, you?" I questioned quietly, hoping I wasn't losing my mind in some hospital somewhere, high on meds or something.
'Yes! Welcome to the world of your dreams!' was the response that popped up before the little white thing began running along a path through the forest.
"Wait!" I shouted, taking off after it down the path.
The forest path opened up to travel between high cliffs, the white creature sitting on a slab of rock, looking at me with dark eyes.
'You're in deep, kid. Quite a bump to the head, if it was enough to send you here.' Looking up from the phone screen, I crouched in front of the animal cautiously.
"Who are you exactly?" I asked quietly, considering the animal had large ears, I didn't want to damage it's hearing.
'I'm Carbuncle! I'm here to guide you back to the waking world! But first, we need to find the exit.' was the reply I received on the phone. I looked at Carbuncle with a thoughtful gaze, before standing and tucking the phone into my coat pocket.
"Lead the way then."
Carbuncle gave a 'yip' before taking off down the path again, with me following close behind. The path went downwards until pools of water were resting between the rocks that littered the ground. The pools of water eventually made sense as we came across a large lake, surrounded by the cliffs that had been growing taller as we walked on.
Carbuncle give another 'yip', prompting me to pull out the phone again.
'I've found the door, follow me!' was what the message read before it jumped and disappeared into the water.
I sighed, staring into the clear water before jumping in as well. The cold water was a shock to my system and the darkness was suffocating at the very least. However, it only lasted a moment before I was stumbling across the floor of my history classroom. Small issue though— I was the size of a mouse now.
I looked around for Carbuncle, going wide-eyed at the new size of the animal; he might as well be an elephant now. The elephant-sized creature trotted off in search of the exit, with me following close behind.
Carbuncle eventually launched itself up onto the teacher's desk, looking around the model of an old imperial palace before giving a loud 'yip'.
'I found the next doorway! We're almost there!' the message read before I pocketed the phone once more, trying to climb my way up a stack of books to the teacher's chair and eventually the desk. God bless the history prof's disorganization, or else I would never have reached the top. Walking up to the palace model, I pull out the phone again as Carbuncle 'yips' from above.
'Up ahead is the end of your dream. The one place you truly feel safe.'
I smiled up at the animal before heading forward into the light-filled doorway. I continued to walk, the light slowly beginning to fade before giving way to the scene before me.
I stood in front of my family's home, the streets around me quiet but in a calm way.
'Your home is your safe place! You feel the safest when you're surrounded by your family!' I followed Carbuncle across the street to the front door, fishing my keys from my jacket pocket and unlock the door. Leaning down, I rub the animal's head, making sure to steer clear of it's horn.
'Everyone's waiting for you.'
"Thanks, Carbuncle. For everything." I said quietly, rising to my full height and opening the door to the house. Stepping over the threshold, I closed the door behind me before the world slowly went dark once again.
I slowly blinked awake, expecting to find myself in a hospital with a doctor about to tell me I had a cracked skull and a bad concussion. But what I actually saw was a thin old woman resting in a chair by my bedside, her silver hair piled up on top of her head as she sewed a button on a shirt.
"Where am I?" I asked quietly, my voice hoarse from disuse but also higher than I remember. Staring in confusion, I tried to sit up in the massive bed before realizing it wasn't the bed that was huge. I was just the size of a child.
"Calm down, child. You took a tumble while playing with the other children." the woman replied calmly, putting down her sewing to walk to my bedside.
"Who are you? Why am I here?" I demanded, scooting away from the woman as she drew closer. The old woman sighed lightly as she sat on the edge of the mattress.
"I'm Miss Renata, I run the foster home here. Where you live." the woman answered patiently, looking at me in pity.
I look at the size difference between her hand and mine, slowly becoming more confused as the seconds tick by.
"How old am I?"
Miss Renata smiles sadly, "You're eight years old."
I suck in a sharp breath, staring down at the blankets covering my lap. They are black and grey patterned quilts, worn and fraying in some areas from age and use.
"I can't be. I was seventeen just a few hours ago, I just finished my day at high school!" I grew more frantic, my hands shooting upwards to tangle in my dark hair.
Miss Renata reached over to the bedside table, retrieving a hand mirror before facing it towards me. In the reflection of the glass was me in all my wide-eyed, eight year-old glory. Dark hair a tangled mess around a pale face that had brown eyes that were far too wide to be normal; a white bandage stained with spots of brown wrapped around my forehead. Tears began to well in my eyes as the old woman carefully placed the mirror back on the bedside table, and resting a weathered hand on my thin shoulder.
"The doctor said there might be a chance that you would be confused when you woke up. Hopefully, everything will come back to you slowly. For now, eat and rest, and we'll go from there." the old woman encouraged lightly, moving slowly to retrieve a tray of food from a dresser by the door and place it in my lap. "The soup and bread should be easy on your stomach, dear. Once you finish, you can go back to sleep."
I nodded silently, picking up the bread and tearing it into chunks to dunk in the strange soup. It didn't really taste like chicken but it was close, prompting me to ask Miss Renata.
"What's in the soup?" The woman smiled lightly from where she had returned to her sewing.
"It's vegetable and chocobo soup. Easy food for an empty stomach." I tilted my head slightly at the mention of 'chocobo' but didn't ask anything more. I was more concerned with filling my empty stomach.
After finishing the soup and the glass of milk that accompanied my food, Miss Renata took the tray away and tucked me in my bed once again. It was strange having an adult tuck me in but in my current state, I couldn't object.
"Rest now. Perhaps you'll remember more once you've rested some more." the old woman said with a small smile, closing the door behind her and leaving me to wonder until I drifted off into sleep.